Thanks for taking the time to set out those thoughts. No surprises in there for me

A walk round Pembroke Dock shows why Labour will lose Welsh election If Plaid Cymru wins the Senedd on May 7, a party with deep roots in the nation will vanish because it failed to tackle the problems that matter most

The Times writes about places I know well ahead of the Welsh elections. Withybush treated my dad recently. It’s heartbreaking to see it run down.

The reasons why places struggle are complex, but politicians took Pembrokeshire for granted for too long..

www.thetimes.com/article/1649...

Tell me you’re a micromanager without telling me you’re a micromanager

🤔

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wants to blame that service station down the road for high gas prices rather than blaming the guy who started an illegal war that caused oil prices to skyrocket.
Joe at the local gas station didn't start any war.

The ever-shrinking JD Vance After a series of setbacks, the vice-president is no longer Trump’s obvious successor

Superb writing

The ever-shrinking JD Vance

giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

Brexiters turn their backs on Donald Trump after Iran chaos Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch distance themselves from the US president, having once celebrated his example

Their cheering Trump on was as opportunistic as their pivot away from him.

It could harm them. And they know it.

Brexiters turn their backs on Donald Trump after Iran chaos.

www.ft.com/content/385a...

Too much testosterone leads to wretched judgments that confuse lethality with winning.

Great line in the @economist.com on Trump's disastrous war.

www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

The help section on your website speaks volumes about how you view customers.

You can choose to be helpful. Or you leave your customers to flounder.

Each has an impact.

Seeking help to harness AI in a busy, growing business - Ben Lowndes Thoughts on busyness, on AI, how it helps and hinders us, and what I want to do about it. Read on if you think you can help.

Monday thoughts from Pembrokeshire on busyness, bad tech, how AI helps and hinders us, and what I want to do about it.

I'm looking for someone to help remove the blockers and build on the progress we've made. If you think you can help, I'd love to hear from you.

benlowndes.blog/2026/04/06/s...

How many times can someone issue a deadline before people stop taking it seriously?

This strait was working just fine until recently.

Critics are right about the far right, and wrong about the BBC - Ben Lowndes Zack Polanski is right about the far right. But accusing the BBC of bias risks strengthening those who want to damage it.

benlowndes.blog/2026/03/30/c...

The Times’ puff piece on Palantir’s UK boss - who happens to be Oswald Mosley’s grandson - is peak 2026.

Sweat the small stuff. Miss the big issue that hides in plain sight.

A little thread on why independence matters in journalism. Together with @investigate-europe.eu, the Guardian has been investigating the dangerous illegal casinos trade. 🧵

Exclusive: Meta has discussed ending funding to the Oversight Board Shifting priorities and budget pressures could bring an end to the company’s experiment in independent governance, sources say

"Meta has told members of its independent Oversight Board that the company may stop funding it after 2028, sources familiar with the situation told Platformer."

*stares in actual government policy*

Yes, thats us as the second best performing nation globally on climate. We were in 17th when the govt took over.

I read the Times most days, and am increasingly finding it to be an embarassment. Quick to see problems that aren't really that back, slow or silent on much bigger issues. I can't remember a leader that's crticised Trump's conduct in the last few weeks.

This a lot less significant (in both economic and environmental terms) than either side think, and it's a sign of how unserious politics is at the moment that the whole thing has become such a totem.

Fuck off with your 'handy support material'
Fuck off with your automated services
Fuck off with your bots.

Reply to my email of four weeks ago!

Answer the phone.

Those who get this will win the AI batttle. Those who run the other way are in a race to the bottom. The public won't forgive them.

‘Matt Goodwin is an embarrassment to Reform’ | The News Agents Failed MP Matt Goodwin has failed to defend claims he used AI to write and research his new book during a TV debate. Who comes out worst from this embarrassing situation?

He will, of course, say this is an elite establishment trying to silence the truth.

Probably better to listen to the podcast and make your own mind up.

www.thenewsagents.co.uk/article/matt...

Critics are right about the far right, and wrong about the BBC - Ben Lowndes Zack Polanski is right about the far right. But accusing the BBC of bias risks strengthening those who want to damage it.

Monday post following the weekend protests and posts about bias at the BBC.

benlowndes.blog/2026/03/30/c...

Is it any wonder our media ecosystem is such a mess? The guy in charge of the supposedly impartial watchdog is slagging off the BBC to the right wing Telegraph - which is hostile to the BBC - & defending the fact his organisation has let GB News act share misinformation and constantly promote Reform

The people of Gorton and Denton didn't want him as their MP.

His book is castigated as a dud.

Now even GB News, who employ him, is turning on him.

And still. Bluster.

Now's a good time for Goodwin to reflect and gracefully own his failure.

He won't.

Lies travel half way around the world before ther truth gets its shoes on, sadly.

The trade offs are starting to be explained to us. Much of the public anticipates the change, and some will be more ready than others.

The media, however, will be certain to blow a gasket over any measure that hints at pain that they don't like.

Only THEIR trade-offs count in this 'debate'.

This is where you end up when you associate with rank bad actors online and exist in a bubble.

Goodwin's chippy response to a huge defeat in the Gorton and Denton by-election indicated how far he'd fallen.

When even your own supporters criticise you, it's time to reflect.

Sadly, he won't.

from Fraser Nelson:

New lessons four years after leaving my job - Ben Lowndes This post shares reflections on running a small PR agency, four years after I resigned from paid employment.

It's four years since I left a paid employment, without a plan or a job to go to.

Lots has happened since. Monday post shares some of those learnings.

If you're thinking of doing similar, I'm happy to chat.

benlowndes.blog/2026/03/16/n...

Well, well...

The Times six months ago quotes Richard Tice on morality and tax.

Times today: Tice pays NO Corporation Tax on millions of pounds of profits for years.

The would-be deputy PM is Reform’s business, trade and energy spokesman.

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Never trust them.

British politics is hooked on flashy fake numbers – and the AI investment debacle proves it | Jonathan Portes A claim that the UK is attracting billions of pounds in AI investment has been debunked. That’s no surprise when our establishment runs on dubious ‘good news’, says Jonathan Portes, a professor at Kin...

Pretty much every word of this.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

How it started ... How it's going